Distraction
by The Green Sword
Summary: Lois has challenged Clark to complete an assignment that he’s been too busy to finish. Clark is determined to win, even though Lois works to prevent his success. Much is at stake and it won't be easy, but both participants have talents. Clois all the way!
1. Chapter 1

Lois has challenged Clark to complete an assignment that he's been too busy to finish. Clark is determined to win, even with Lois' best efforts to prevent his success. Much is at stake, but both participants have their talents. Clois all the way! Summary kinda sucks, sorry!

Disclaimer: Obviously these characters aren't mine or Lois and Clark would have been together years ago and Lana would have stayed in Paris!

**Distraction**

"Nice try, Smallville, but I don't think you've got enough punch this time. You must have taken all the soul out of this on that last re-do." Lois greeted him as he strode into the bullpen. She waved his last article rewrite in front of him.

"Good morning to you, too, Lois." Clark replied. He was feeling irritated today. He hadn't gotten much sleep and the reason was now smiling triumphantly at the desk across from his. She had been driving him crazy the past two days. Now, she was wearing that damned outfit that looked so great on her: the black skirt that ended just above her knees, the dark red blouse that made her absolutely irresistible, her dark hair falling perfectly around her face. He just wanted to--no, he couldn't let himself get distracted by appropriate ways to punish her.

Lois handed him the paper with a sweet smile. "Don't forget, Smallville, this is your last day to get it right."

They shared a meaningful look as they each held an end of the paper. Clark willed her to see the apology in his eyes. Lois, for her part, seemed to have stuck her heels firmly in the ground. It would take a feat of super-strength to pull her out of it. Luckily, Clark was just the man to wield that strength. "I know it is, Lois, I know."

She pulled away from him, swiveling to start sorting through a large pile of papers on her desk. "Well, get to it."

He sighed and sat down at his desk. This was going to be a long day. He just needed to finish this article before the paper went to print today. Tess had given him an assignment and he had to get it done by the end of the week. Lois had made a deal challenging him to get it done today. He had to meet Lois' challenge. He was running out of excuses, and he really was going to enjoy the look on her face. Oh, yes, he would enjoy that later. He just needed to put the soul back into the article. Right. No problem.

He cast a quick look at Lois. She was glaring at her computer, obviously having some difficulty with whatever she was working on. With their desks facing each other like this he could often sneak glances at her without her noticing and still see her face. His eyes lingered on her for longer than he planned. This also happened a lot, too. He noticed her eyes scanning the information in front of her, lit by the screen and by their own inner fire. She was scratching her throat, but then, ever so subtly, she popped the top button on her blouse.

Clark pulled himself so quickly to the other side of his desk he was sure he had super-sped without meaning to. She had to have heard his chair move. He loosened his tie slightly. He wiped his forehead and took a deep breath. It was going to be so much harder to concentrate today than he had hoped. Lois would make sure of that. He should have known better.

He got back to work typing, refusing to give Lois the satisfaction of knowing just how much she was already distracting him. That wasn't always an easy thing to do. He tried to shut down the parts of his brain that wanted to do anything but finish this article. He had to give it soul, even when he felt like his own was starting to strain against his skin.

"Chloe called last night."

"Mmmhmmm," was all Clark could manage to say. Between infusing soul and that blouse's top button, he was multi-tasking as much as he could right now, even for him.

"She's taking the day off work."

"Great."

"She wants to take us to a nice lunch in the city today."

"Excellent," Clark was on auto-pilot by this time. He was used to Lois' chatter. Normally it filled a nice, comfortable niche between them. Today, however, his mind was already filling that niche with distracted thoughts and piling frustrations. He wasn't sure just how much of Lois' voice would be able to share that space.

"I told her I'm pretty sure you could actually make it to lunch for her. Even though you've been so busy lately."

"That's interesting."

"She wants to have a nice, long, relaxing time with us. Then we're going to Oz on a flying monkey." Lois' voice had an edge to it this time.

"Wonderful," Clark suddenly realized what she had said. He looked at her innocently but she was already glaring at him. "Wait. What? I don't want to go to Oz."

Lois rolled her eyes. "Then I guess we'll just have to hope you show up for lunch then."

"A long lunch, did you say?" Clark asked fearfully with a glance at his screen. The blinking cursor seemed to be taunting him just as much as Lois. They were probably working together to keep him from finishing.

The way Lois was smiling made Clark nervous. "Many, many courses."

"But, but Lois, you know I've got to finish this article today." Clark knew she wanted him to finish it just as much as he wanted it to be over with. At least, he thought she did. Didn't she?

Lois swiveled back to the stack of papers. "You've had a while to work on that story, Smallville. You shouldn't have put it off for so long. Chloe rarely has time to have lunch with us, let alone take a day off. You owe this to her for making an effort." She shot him a look that clearly meant he was not going to get out of this with the article as an excuse. He knew she was making several points in that speech. He knew that she meant each and every one of them, too.

Clark took a deep breath. Fine, she wasn't going to help him finish this quickly. Let her try her best to keep him distracted. He could deal with that. He would be meeting Lois Lane's challenge. Even if the frustration mounting inside of him was threatening his hold on sanity. He just needed to focus.

Right. No problem.

Oh frak.

*********

The Smallville Muse has stayed with me, producing this after some time and because I am somehow awake at 3 in the morning. More chapters are to come! Reviews make them come faster! It's like magic!


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Thank you so much for the awesome reviews so far! You've really helped inspire me to write more! This chapter features more distraction, more torture, and more Clois goodness!

**Chapter Two**

Two hours later, he was still struggling. His last draft now apparently had enough soul but was lacking a connection with the reader. He swore she was just pulling these excuses out of the air. She was going to offer any obstacle she could in order to keep him from finishing. This whole thing was completely biased. She had to approve his article before sending it off but she also was preventing him from finishing at the same time. She may be stubborn, but he could be too. There was no way he was going to let her win this one.

There was a problem with his determination, though. He was having a harder time focusing. He could admit that freely. Almost everything seemed to distract him. He had been hearing a fly buzzing for at least half an hour but couldn't track it down. Lois kept on talking and throwing in things during conversation just to see if he was actually paying attention to what she was saying. Telling her to shut up would produce no effect, so he was forced to try and just not look at her, even if he did talk to her and work at the same time. Although he had adjusted to the appeal of her appearance, something he had to deal with every day, that didn't mean he was home free.

"How's it coming?" Lois asked, almost making him jump. He had forgotten she had gone to get coffee as he slogged through the pile of information on his desk. She placed one cup on her desk and the other on Clark's as she leaned over Clark's shoulder to look at his computer. Her right hand rested on the desk, a few inches from his hand, while he could feel her other hand slide around to the back of his chair and rest not quite against his back.

This was not good.

Clark did not allow himself to look at her. She was three inches away from him and he absolutely could not afford to let himself see her in such close proximity. Especially not in the outfit that always killed him. Especially not when she smelled absolutely fantastic. Vanilla. At least he could feel her warmth. He would be helpless if he saw her smiling. He forced himself to just sit there, staring dumbly at the screen, actually powerless against whatever Lois was going to do to him when she was so close.

"Ummm," he had no idea what to say. Just when he thought he was making progress on the article, she went and did something like this.

"This looks better," Lois said, taking the mouse from under his hand but not pushing him away. Clark stared at their hands. Her hand was moving the mouse but his was still resting atop hers. Now he definitely could not afford to look at her. His breathing got a bit shallower when that familiar, warm-as-honey feeling shot up his fingers, through his elbow, and right into his chest. "Engage the reader, Smallville, that's the key. Your sources need to sing on the page. I want this to be a whole bird cage."

"Bird cage. Right," Clark said. His hand now felt like it was on fire. He swallowed and tried to will his hand away from hers. She would know that she was winning if he couldn't move his hand. He glanced nervously around, anywhere but in her direction. Oh frak, there was no way she didn't know she was winning anyways. He might as well let his hand stay and see if he could get to her a little bit in return.

"This whole screen should be like opening night of the Metropolis Opera," Lois continued to talk while scanning his work.

"What about this part down at the bottom?" Clark couldn't help but smile as he took control of Lois' hand and the mouse under it. He spread his fingers to completely cover her hand and guided the mouse on the screen. His hold was firm, yet gentle, the way he usually tried to handle Lois when he felt confident enough. "Is it symphonic yet?"

Lois was quiet for longer than was normal. She may have instigated this little incident, but Clark was now holding her hand hostage. He felt her trying to move away, ever so slightly. He didn't let go. "Well, uh, I wouldn't say it's the Boston Pops yet, Smallville, but, uh, keep cracking at it."

Clark couldn't help himself; he glanced over at her. She was certainly putting up a very brave front. With her intense stare at the screen, he was sure that his computer would have two very neat holes in the screen if she had heat vision. He knew better than to think that he was having no effect on her. He could see the glimmer of panic in her eyes. Not to sound corny or anything, but he could hear how her heartbeat had kicked up a notch. He knew there was something similar in his own eyes and blood pressure, but he couldn't help but feel proud about how this situation was progressing.

He grinned. "Thanks, Lois."

He should have known better. He should have known not to think he had pulled ahead of her in this game. Too much lay under the surface. This was a very personal challenge between them.

Lois apparently had more stamina than he thought. Even though he had been unable to look at her while she had the upper hand, she somehow managed to turn and look at him. He was still grinning and couldn't change his expression fast enough. Her head tilted slightly as her eyebrow went up. He knew that look. It usually meant something dangerous was going to happen. He stopped grinning. She started. Her other hand, the one that he had forgotten behind his back, started rubbing small circles at the perfect spot on his neck.

"You're never going to create a masterpiece if you don't loosen up, Clark," she said quietly.

Every point of contact between them felt like the inside of the Sun for him right now. His palm was a vat of lava. His neck was alternately tickled, licked, and stabbed by solar flares. He wondered if he could actually melt right here in this chair. He was sure his face had some ridiculous look of sublime joy on it. He couldn't help it. And Lois kept on smiling at him, knowing exactly what she was doing.

"Lois…" Clark breathed. "You said, you said that I couldn't—"

"You're not, Clark, this is all me," Lois smiled even brighter at him.

"That…that doesn't seem very fair," he was getting really nervous now. He had completely forgotten about the article as Lois worked her magic on his neck.

"No one said life was fair."

"Hey Lane!" called a voice from the door of the bullpen.

Clark and Lois both moved quickly but carefully. Clark pulled his hand away and used the same motion to loosen his tie some more. Lois pulled both of her hands away from Clark as she spun to meet the call, smoothing her skirt as she moved. Steve Lombard was standing in the doorway.

"Mercer wants to see you up top."

"Thanks Steve," Lois said. She turned back to Clark, who had moved further away from her. "Get back to work, Smallville. You're never going to make that deadline."

Clark watched her with relief as she left the bullpen. As soon as she was gone he gulped down about half of the coffee that she had brought him. He sunk down in his chair, kneading his forehead with his knuckles. He heard an emergency pop up on the other side of town. Thankful for the release, he sped away from his desk.

It was a robbery of some jewelry store. It was exactly what Clark needed. He sped in, hit the punks, tied them up, and then circled the city a couple times to let off some steam. Lois was acting absolutely unbelievable. He'd seen her act like this before in the office, although not nearly as much. He was lucky if he got this intense of a treatment once a day let alone twice. Oh yes, very lucky indeed. He knew he was lucky to have Lois Lane sitting across from him. He just couldn't focus enough. He had to get back and finish that article as soon as possible or she would probably kill him.

Chloe and Lois were chatting by her desk when he came back in and he swore under his breath. He had completely forgotten about lunch. Now he would be delayed even more. Plus, Lois would have more time to torture him during lunch.

"Chloe, good to see you!" Clark said halfheartedly.

"Hey Clark, how're you doing?" Chloe said cheerfully.

Clark ignored the look on Lois' face. "I'm just trying to finish an article for the slave-driver over here."

"You're so dramatic, farm boy. C'mon, cuz, let's get some grub," Lois said. She smiled ruthlessly at Clark and pulled him away from their desks and the article that he desperately needed to finish, now more than ever.

"Lois…the article…" Clark tried to plead with her, but she was having none of it.

"Oh, be quiet, you owe both of us lunch," Lois said.

As the two cousins dragged him from the bullpen, he could only stare wistfully over his shoulder.

**************

AN: Ok, this next part at lunch might take me a little bit longer because Chloe's voice is harder for me. Reviews help! Also, if any one has suggestions for more torture, either by Clark or Lois, that would be great! I'm not sure how many sexy foods there are out there, but I'll see what I come up with!


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Thanks again for all the reviews and great feedback! It's great to know people are enjoying this little fic. Next up for Lois and Clark is a bit more distraction and torture at lunch with Chloe…

**Chapter Three  
**

As soon as Clark stepped out of the taxi he turned around to get right back in again. He recognized where they were and knew he shouldn't tempt fate or himself by going inside. At any other restaurant he might have had a fighting chance to actually think about the article while eating, but not here. Not when Chloe had selected The Melting Pot as their lunch location.

Unfortunately, Lois and Chloe were still getting out of the taxi as Clark was trying to get back in. Chloe gave him a strange look while Lois glared at him and physically blocked his re-entry. She pushed him away from the taxi by the shoulders while yelling at the taxi driver to leave. Clark tried to plead with his eyes to not be forced to go inside.

"Hey Chloe, why don't you go put our names in, ok?" Lois said, still facing Clark and holding him by the shoulders as Chloe left.

Even though Chloe was out of earshot, Clark still spoke in a low voice. "Lois, please don't make us go in there."

"This was Chloe's choice, not mine, Smallville. She heard about it and wanted to go. Remember what I said about you owing both of us lunch?" Lois pushed him a bit further from the curb and from any possibly open cabs.

Clark searched her eyes for any sort of mercy in the situation, but she looked like she was already steeling herself for lunch, too. He hoped she understood what he was trying to tell her. "Why don't we suggest another place?"

"We're already here. It would be weird to leave. We're also trying to cut down on our weirdness, remember? You're so forgetful today." Lois seemed to trust that he wouldn't make a break for it and let go of his shoulders, running her hands down his arms before breaking off contact entirely. He felt a shiver shoot through his spine at the loss of her touch.

"Yeah, I wonder why I can't seem to remember anything." Clark glared at her and she smirked slightly in understanding. He rubbed his forehead and considered her for a moment. "You can do this?" She nodded in reply. "Well, if you can do it, then I can do it."

"Good," she punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Oh, don't look so forlorn. We're not going to face a firing squad in there. It's just fondue." They both started walking towards the restaurant when Lois paused and grabbed his elbow. "You had better not leave during this."

Clark switched into his avoidance and innocence mode. "What do you mean?"

She looked gravely serious. "I mean no phone calls, no excuses, no need to buy gum at that drugstore over there, and no getting up for any reason at all while we're here."

"What if I have to go to the bathroom? You kept on pumping coffee into me today." Clark countered. He wasn't keen on the idea of promising not to answer any emergencies that would require his help.

"I think you can hold it," Lois said. "We haven't seen Chloe in at least two weeks. She's been dealing with a lot of crap at work and with Jimmy. You need to do this for her. You need to be there for her. Plus, I don't need to remind you that you've skipped out of almost all our dining plans for the last week."

"No, you don't need to remind me," Clark sighed. Lois wasn't going to budge on this and he didn't particularly blame her for being so strict on this. "Fine, I won't leave. Can we go in now? This whole thing is probably turning Chloe's weird radar up rather than down like we'd planned."

They joined Chloe in the lobby. She was already holding a pager. "Everything ok?"

"Sure, no problem," Lois said, looking around. "Wow, this place looks really nice."

Clark rolled his eyes and sat down next to Chloe. He knew this wasn't Lois' first time here, even though she acted like it was. Lois and Chloe were gushing about the décor and lighting while he leaned back in the very comfortable chair. The smells of cheese and chocolate mingled with meat throughout the restaurant. His super-hearing picked up the pouring of wine and the dipping of food into bowls of hot liquid.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He remembered almost everything about this place. The first time he had been there had been a chilly January night. He remembered helping…her out of a long black jacket to reveal a mesmerizing red dress. If this lunch was going to succeed he was going to have to force himself not to connect a face with the woman he had taken here that night. It had been the perfect evening. With her, everything tasted better, everything felt better, and everything had exceeded his humble expectations. It wasn't that he couldn't bear to be back in this place, he was just afraid of tarnishing the perfect memory he had of the restaurant and that night. He just had to make this a different experience and memory.

He opened his eyes to bring himself back to the present. He would not be able to make it through lunch if he kept reminiscing. Remembering everything perfectly meant he would easily be able to prevent replicating that night. It was daytime and not quite as intimate an occasion. He would have to order something entirely different, that was for sure. This wasn't a date and having three people there instead of two would also help. He sighed. With any kind of luck, maybe trying to think about his article would distract him from the restaurant. How had work become a distraction to all the pleasurable parts of his day so far?

The pager went off in Chloe's hand and the three of them were shown to a table. Clark was glad to see their table was on the opposite side of the restaurant from the nice corner he had enjoyed so much the last time. He wasn't even paying attention to how they sat down at the table until he realized he was directly across from Lois. He gave her a nervous glance as the waiter handed them menus. Lois Lane and fondue…it looked like she had maneuvered herself into yet another position to inflict torture upon him.

"Everything looks so good," Chloe said as they perused the menus. "Clark, you've been here before, what do you recommend?"

Lois looked up sharply and Clark buried himself in his menu. "Uh, he has?"

"Yeah," Chloe said carelessly. "He told me about this place. Apparently he took some girl here a few months ago. We should get the cheese fondue, right?"

Lois was looking back and forth between Clark and Chloe, apparently not sure which one she should be addressing. Clark filled the silence by answering Chloe, "The cheese is very good."

Clark felt someone kick him under the table and he glanced at Lois. She smiled sweetly back at him, but he was sure it was fake. He could only shrug, not sure what Lois expected him to say. Lois rolled her eyes and flipped the menu over to the back.

"Desserts already?" Chloe asked her.

"I need chocolate and these are supposed to be amazing." Lois was refusing to look up from the menu even though Clark was smirking and trying to catch her eye. If she needed chocolate then he was definitely getting to her at least a little.

"Shouldn't you start with the entrees, Lois?" Chloe laughed.

"I'll just split one of the ones for two with Clark," Lois said.

This wasn't a new concept for Clark. He had already been looking at those anyway. They had gotten into the habit of splitting meals designed for two to save money while working on stories. He didn't think it was strange, but Chloe was looking at them both with interest. "I didn't know Lois could share like that," was all she said.

Lois seemed to catch on to what Chloe was thinking about. "Strictly for monetary purposes, Chlo. Two salaries at the Daily Planet, even with my raise, don't add up to a whole lotta fancy dining."

Chloe seemed to accept this. "Three years ago, I would have never guessed guys would have gotten to that point, but I guess with as much time as you guys spend together now, it's better than killing each other."

"Please, Chloe, it's not like we've developed some magical bond that makes everything rainbows and flowers," Lois said, continuing to make things sound as normal as possible. "Smallville and I still have plenty that we don't see eye-to-eye on, like his wardrobe, for example."

Clark grunted again as Lois' foot connected with his shin for the second time. He shot her an impatient look; he knew how to handle times when others saw him and Lois as a couple. "And common manners that Lois still hasn't managed to learn. Are you both ready to order?"

Chloe told the waiter her individual order and then Clark ordered the cheese fondue and the meal for him and Lois. Lois, after careful consideration of the dessert choices, picked out something for the three of them to share after the main course.

"You never told me what Tess wanted with you this morning," Clark said to Lois.

She shrugged noncommittally. "Nothing much, just some information."

"C'mon Lois, we're practically partners."

"Uh-uh, Smallville, we are not partners. I don't share like that. I am showing you the ropes and moves of a real reporter, kapeche? You are so far below me on the Planet totem pole it isn't even funny."

"We all know how Lois likes to be on top," Chloe smirked into her water glass. The three of them shared a glance before dissolving into laughter.

For a few minutes they were back to being their nearly carefree teenaged selves. They reminisced about the old times back at the farmhouse, their crazy adventures, and about how many times each of them had almost been killed.

"I still think the worst was when I got stabbed in that dam and then woke up perfectly fine," Lois said.

This time, it was Chloe's eye that Clark caught before they both looked quickly away. They were saved from responding by the arrival of their fondues. Clark divided the food between himself and Lois while Chloe started skewering and dipping her shrimp.

"Oh my god, this is amazing," she said. "I'm so glad you found this place, Clark."

Clark really didn't want to return to discussion of his previous time at the restaurant. He was doing a pretty good job of not recalling that night, but he didn't want to chance anything. "How'd you manage to get a day off, Chloe? I thought things were pretty swamped right now."

Chloe took the bait and launched into a full tirade about work. Clark was glad to have dodged being the subject of conversation again. On the other hand, he now had to deal with Lois eating right across from him. He tried to honestly pay attention to what Chloe was saying, but was getting distracted again.

There was something fundamentally appealing about watching a beautiful woman eat fondue. Clark may not have been human, but he could definitely appreciate everything a human male could. He hated to admit it, but Lois was driving him crazy right now. It wasn't that she ate gracefully, she was Lois after all and would always have some edge, but he still couldn't quite put his finger on the attraction. It was probably the whole process of spearing, dipping, and the transfer of food to mouth. Yeah, it definitely had something to do with the mouth.

Clark glumly speared a piece of beef. Lois was having no problem keeping up a conversation with Chloe. Back at the Planet he could at least reflect some torture back at Lois, but here he was the only victim. He already felt lame about being enraptured while watching her lick cheese off a piece of bread. He didn't want to assume that just watching him eat would bother Lois the same way. He didn't want to attempt it and wind up looking ridiculous, either. Not with Chloe sitting right there.

No, he would just have to focus on his own food and on what Chloe was saying. Something about files being misplaced and she had to find them. That would not be able to distract him from Lois. He couldn't let himself think too much about the restaurant, either. Ok, maybe he would try and think about the article. He tried to remember the last thing he had typed, but then couldn't really see how work could matter when Lois was peeling the tail off the piece of shrimp dangling from her mouth.

He forced his eyes back to his own plate, hoping to find something to skewer. Unfortunately, his plate was empty. He must have been eating faster than he thought. It wasn't really surprising, especially with the temptation playing right across the table from him. He looked at the other plates on the table and was relieved to see that both Chloe and Lois were done with their food, too. A waiter was even clearing their table already. Maybe now he could regain some sanity and take some interest in the conversation around him.

Clark had just gotten to the point where he felt like he actually understood the people that Chloe was talking about when the waiter came back with their dessert. He had completely forgotten that Lois had taken the initiative to order it. He could only stare at the pot of chocolate and the plate full of marshmallows, fruit, pound cake, and brownies.

He panicked. "Uhhh," he said as he started to rise from his seat. Lois cleared her throat and a shoe and heel stabbed into his foot in response. Lois looked like she would kill him if he continued moving, so he slowly and reluctantly sat back down. She was really sticking to her demand that he didn't move from the table. He tried his pleading look again, but she wasn't buying it. She winked at him, but kept her foot firmly on his.

Chloe was already dipping a marshmallow and Lois quickly grabbed one of her own. Chloe smiled and passed one to Clark, who took it with a small sigh. He tried to focus on swirling his marshmallow in the chocolate, but Lois was already licking chocolate on her lips.

Laughing with Chloe, eating delicious dessert, licking her lips…Lois was irresistible.

Clark couldn't take much more of this without doing something about it. He loosened his tie a bit further, although it wasn't constricting his flow of air at all. He managed to rejoin the conversation with Chloe, but the contact coming from Lois' shoe wasn't nearly enough for him. Moving carefully not to jostle any other legs under the table, he scooted his chair closer to the table and then shifted his foot out from under Lois' heel.

Her eyes flickered to him. He grinned and dipped a strawberry in the chocolate. Now he definitely had her attention. He brought the strawberry slowly up to his mouth, his eyes locked with Lois'. As he took a bite of the chocolaty fruit he also pushed his leg to loop around Lois' closest leg so that their calves were pressed together. She dropped the piece of pound cake she had been dipping into the chocolate.

Clark continued to grin as Chloe and a flustered Lois dug through the chocolate to try and find the pound cake. It had to have been the best strawberry he had ever eaten.

Chloe finally pulled up the blob of pound cake and Lois gestured for Chloe to plop it onto Lois' spoon. Lois shoved the whole piece into her mouth, glaring at Clark and his strategy.

"Hey Chloe, you miss the old Daily Planet building, right?" Lois said after she swallowed.

Chloe smiled, a bit embarrassed. "More than I'd like to admit, why?"

Lois cocked her head and smiled. "Why don't you come hang out with us after lunch? I've got some copying that I'm really behind on and I know Clark and I would both love to see you more today."

_Fraaaaaaaaaaak!_ was the only thing that Clark's mind could find to say.

As Chloe expressed her interest in this idea, Lois' leg hooked itself further around Clark's leg. He gulped and reached weakly for another strawberry. This article was doomed in so many ways.

***************

AN: I think I'll be able to wrap this up in the next chapter, so thanks for hanging around for the ride! This was a bit longer than I'd planned, but your questions and suspicions should be cleared up soon! Please Review! It is greatly appreciated!


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Fun factoid #1: I actually started writing this story at this point and just expanded the beginning to be more interesting. This is probably the best chapter as a result. Stay tuned for whether Clark meets the challenge, how Lois deals with what he does, and of course, more Clois action that we all love and long for!

**Chapter Four**

"Not done yet, Smallville?" Lois asked him, breezing by with a stack of new copies. He caught a whiff of vanilla, hating the fact that he noticed that, and glared at her. She only smiled back innocently.

"Lois—" Clark almost growled.

They were back at the Daily Planet, of course. Lois and Chloe had gotten to work updating Lois' files and copies while Clark hoped they would ignore him so he could finish the article. He thought Chloe's presence might distract Lois from distracting him in turn. He felt like he was drowning in papers, trying to figure out Lois' editing marks, and not really sure what had been wrong with all the prior versions of his story.

"Chop chop! If you don't get that finished in the next thirty minutes you're not going to make tomorrow's edition. That will be the second time this week. I'm sure Tess will love that."

How did she keep track of everything he did like that? He tried to ignore her comment about his rough patch at work. Between sitting across from her and answering emergencies across the city, Clark was getting stretched pretty thin on a daily basis. "Yeah, you'd love it too. You know exactly what—"

"What else do you have for me to do, Lois?" Chloe stuck her head into the bullpen. Clark rolled his eyes and resumed typing. He was really sick of this story and he _was_ going to make tomorrow's edition, no matter how hard Lois Lane might try and stop him.

Lois looked around her desk. "I've got some more files here, if you really feel like copying and collating. Clark, do you have anything for Chloe to help with? And don't say typing, because that's all you."

Clark shot Lois a look, grumbled something in the negative, and wrenched his wandering attention back to his computer. Chloe came and got another pile of papers from a grinning Lois. He couldn't believe he was still working on this so close to the deadline. He had wanted this to be done hours ago. He could feel his frustration rising and he did his best to push it back down. This was not a good time to start ripping apart the desk or chair or computer or a certain brunette co-worker. Unfortunately.

Lois sat down and started swiveling in her chair as she worked on her computer. Clark glared at her. She was back to using the more common forms of distraction that she had perfected over the past few days. It didn't affect him as much as her…physical tactics, but it certainly switched his focus over to her, which eventually led to him just thinking about her. Her nails clicked on her desk in a random rhythm. He felt his focus slipping away again and he grabbed the edited copy of his story in order to force his eyes to see it clearly.

"How many s's are in pacification?" Lois asked, still swiveling but now typing.

Clark blinked then sighed, "There aren't any s's, Lois. It's a c."

"Really?"

Clark ran a hand through his hair. "Yes, really."

"Hmm," was all Lois said in reply, starting to clack away on her keyboard a bit louder.

Clark could see Chloe still working at the copy machine in the next room. The bullpen was full of motion and noise. That fly was still buzzing around somewhere. Lois kept on flipping her hair and shooting curious looks at him. There was no way he was going to be able to finish this. He was almost done with another version of the story, but he was sure it wasn't nearly good enough for Lois. They hadn't spoken of the underlying reasons behind this challenge, but he decided that he would have to break that unspoken agreement for silence.

"Hey, Lois, do you think--" Clark whispered.

"No, I don't. Don't even think about it, mister."

Clark leaned further over his desk towards her. "You don't even know what I was going to ask."

Lois looked at him as if weighing him in her mind. "I have a pretty good idea. The answer's no, Smallville. We had a deal. Either man up and meet the challenge or face the loss."

Clark felt his frustration mounting. He went back to typing, "Fine."

"Good. Now, does asymmetrical have a y or an i?"

"A y." Clark said automatically. After a pause he looked up from his computer, his frustration at the entire day taking over. "Are you serious? How can you be so vigilant about editing my stuff when you can't spell words a sixth grader knows? What kind of article needs asymmetrical in it anyways? Augh, you are so demanding!"

"Oh, so I suppose you're God's gift to the Daily Planet, huh? You know everything?" Lois snapped back in a whisper that was thinly laced with danger.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Clark shot back.

"You come in here and act like everything you do is right and so you don't need to explain yourself at all. Is that it, are you the Übermensch? You think you deserve special privileges? I don't think so, hot shot. You've got to pull your own weight around here. You can't just duck in and out of here whenever you feel like it!" Lois seethed.

"Look who's talking! You think this whole place belongs to you and you can just walk all over people. It's either your way or the highway. Do you know how hard it can be to live up to your expectations? Not everyone can be 'Mad Dog Lane' and plow through work and nothing else. People have lives, Lois."

Lois' eyes flashed and Clark wondered whether he had taken a wrong turn. "Yeah, Smallville, people have lives. I know that. Now, let's see if you know that. We're testing your realization of the effects of your actions on people's lives. On my life. Remember? You were finishing the article by my deadline to see if you could actually focus on something that mattered and needed time. That was the deal."

"I know what the deal was, Lois. I already apologized. I know what I did wrong. I'm sorry." His face softened as he pleaded with her. "I shouldn't have left all those times when we had plans. I know you deserve more."

"Damn right I do," Lois said, but she sounded like she was calming down, too.

Clark felt more comfortable, even though she wouldn't look at him yet. "I also shouldn't have made work such a light subject. It's important to you—to both of us. I know I need to do better with that, too."

Lois sighed and finally looked at him. "Life isn't just work, either, Clark. You were right about that much. You just need to know how to manage your lack of focus. But that doesn't mean you're off the hook for that story just because the Muse has left you for now. You're still up against our decided deadline."

Clark held her gaze and did his best to look sincere. "Please, Lois, you know you're killing me right now."

"Do I?" Lois said nonchalantly, breaking his gaze by shuffling through the papers on her desk. "I wonder what else Chloe feels like helping with."

"Lois, I'm sorry." Clark implored, continuing to look at her until she looked up. Her face was locked sternly, but he knew she was mostly doing it for show now. "I know I messed up, in a lot of things. You were totally right to call me on it like you did. But couldn't we push the deadline back a bit?"

Lois swung her hair back over her shoulder, but Clark couldn't tell if she was weakening. "Yes, we've established that you messed up. I still like my original idea, though. You know, the one where we see if you can redeem yourself by finishing that article and getting your work attitude back on-track? You've been slipping lately," she gave him a pointed look at that.

Clark leaned over his desk closer to her, whispering quieter. "Yeah, no wonder I've been slipping. You've been taking any advantage you can to distract me all day. From the…stuff today to Chloe just happening to be free, I've been going insane. You know I have. I know you can tell." He didn't have to work very hard to convey on his face just how desperate he was. He was surprised she couldn't feel just how distracted he was. He felt like his frustration was going to come streaming out of his pores at any second. He couldn't take this much longer…

Lois gave him a thoughtful look, and then bit her lip. She swallowed hard, "Don't look at me like that, Smallville.

Clark noticed Chloe watching them from the next room. From the look on her face, he knew she was keenly interested in the intense discussion between him and Lois. She started to move towards the door and towards them. He looked back at Lois with a significant look.

"Everything ok?" Chloe asked.

Clark gathered the rest of his limited attention and starting typing what he hoped would be the end of the article. He left it to Lois to answer Chloe. It was the least she could do, since she had done so much to keep him off-schedule.

"We're fine here, Chloe. Clark's just trying to get out of our deal at the eleventh hour," Lois replied.

Chloe looked sympathetically at Clark. "I'm not really sure I understand the full reason for this challenge, Lois."

Lois picked up another pile of papers and walked with Chloe back to the other room. "Well, it all started when Clark was being completely unfocused in several areas of his life, I'm talking major problems with time commitments…"

Clark mentally thanked the opportunity Chloe had given him. He was pretty sure he had a finished product on his hands, one that was good enough to get past the Lane sensors, even. He reread the article, fixing a couple phrases he knew didn't have enough soul or weren't singing quite loud enough. He couldn't help but grin as he printed out the article. Oh yes, he would be meeting this deadline. Clark placed the new copy of the story on Lois' keyboard and then sat back and relaxed in his chair.

Lois and Chloe came back from the other room. Lois was still talking about the challenge. "So if he wins then everything goes back to normal and he'll know that I once again have faith in his commitment to things. Of course, if he loses then I get to exact a punishment of my choosing…" She trailed off when she saw Clark smiling. She noticed the papers on her keyboard, narrowed her eyes, and then sat down to read.

Clark and Chloe were quiet while Lois was reading. Clark was actually feeling quite confident this time, even though Lois' expression was getting harder to interpret. Time seemed to drag on. Every scan and blink of her eyes felt like an eternity for Clark. The deadline was too close for him to have failed this time. He absolutely needed this to work.

Lois reached the end of the article and sat contemplating the papers for a moment that felt like a year. Then, without looking at either of them, she put the papers back on her keyboard and walked away.

"What was that? Did you pass? Is she mad now or something?" Chloe turned to Clark.

Clark wasn't exactly sure what had just happened. He tried to clamp down on his hopes. "I'll go find her, Chloe. You can go back home and enjoy the rest of your day off."

He knew exactly where to go. He headed straight for the back supply room, the one that hardly anyone ever used. He sidestepped a group of photographers discussing the miraculous disruption of a robbery at a jewelry store across town. He couldn't help grinning, although he brushed it aside quickly. He didn't have time to eavesdrop. He now was totally focused on finding Lois as quickly as possible.

He reached the supply room and quietly opened the door. "Lois?" he called as he stepped inside. The familiar light from the small window cast weird shadows.

Lois barely waited until he was fully inside the room. She crashed into him, throwing her arms around his neck and immediately capturing his lips in the most passionate kiss of his life. He stumbled back a step to close the door behind him while his arms wound around her waist and pulled her close. Her body molded perfectly into his, finding the familiar grooves and making Clark forget everything else in the world.

_Finally!_

Their mouths fought for dominance of intensity, with each kiss searing deeper and deeper. They were running on so much more than the tension and lust that had been fueling them for the past week or so. There was hurt that needed healing, passion that could no longer be contained, comfort to be found again, and forgiveness to be branded on each other's lips. Clark didn't wait long before slowly sliding his tongue along the bottom of her lip. She didn't resist at all, instantly giving him access. He slipped his tongue into her mouth and then began the dance of their tongues enthusiastically. Lois moaned against him and her hands twisted into his hair as she tried to pull them even closer. Clark was already trying to meld her skin to his as much as his strength would let him without crushing her.

Lois' hands moved to squeeze his shoulders in their normal signal for a change of position. Clark was happy to oblige her request. He lowered his arms and lifted her into the air. Her legs wrapped around his waist without breaking the connection between their lips. He swung her around before carefully placing her on the unused desk in the corner. Her legs remained around him even though she no longer needed him for support.

His hands deftly pulled her shirt loose from her skirt and rested on the warm skin of her lower back. He continued to pull her close to him, almost afraid that she would disappear into smoke in his arms. She pulled at the tie around his neck, finally pulling it loose and throwing it aside.

She brought her hands up to his jaw before they slowly and reluctantly pulled away from each other, both gasping for breath. Clark rested his forehead against hers, keeping his eyes closed as they panted in the same air and occasionally softly kissed each other as if to remind themselves that the other was there. Not that Clark had any trouble. His whole body was on fire again, fueled by the points of contact with Lois that were almost throbbing in pleasure.

"I've been wanting to do that for days," Lois admitted after a few minutes. She undid the top few buttons of his shirt to slide her hands underneath to his shoulders.

Clark opened his eyes to gaze directly into hers. "I've been needing to do this since the minute you added the 'no touching you' provision into the challenge. Especially after today, God, Lois, I could barely keep my hands off you!"

Lois, to her credit, did look a little ashamed. She started rubbing soothing circles on his back, relaxing even more tension. "It needed to be done. I needed to see if you could focus on something that mattered, even with other distractions around. And even if I was a distraction. Things have gotten so much more serious between us in the past few months. I wanted to make sure we could still have this relationship and the work relationship, too. It seems like you've been having trouble."

Clark felt guilty now. They had been dating for three and a half months and he was so close to telling Lois his secret, but he hadn't found the right way to bring it up yet. With Lois' concerns about how much he was doing with her and work, he needed to make sure she understood that he had time for everything in his life. He wanted her to know that he needed her more than anything else, even if he was busy with other things, too. She was the reason why he felt so good about being able to make a difference against crime. She was worth protecting. She made everything worth it. He gave her a quick, intense kiss. "I can make this work, Lois. I met your deadline. I won't let you slip away so easily from me."

"So you'll plan our time better so that you're not running out with no reason?"

"You can count on it."

Lois grinned and pulled him to her again. This time passion was more of an undercurrent in their kisses rather than fueling their full desire. Clark buried his hands in her thick hair before diverting his attention to trailing kisses along her jaw and neck. At one point he had been astounded that a woman as magnificent as Lois would even let him attempt to touch her, let alone embrace him so passionately in return.

"You don't think Chloe suspects anything?" Lois gasped above his shoulder.

"Chloe's seen much weirder behavior. Her radar shoots right for the extreme." Clark pulled her back down to look seriously into her eyes again. "But I really could have used some more back-up on the lunch situation."

"We loved the Melting Pot."

Clark caressed her chin softly. "The place of our first date? Not exactly where I want to go with my girlfriend and my best friend who doesn't know about my girlfriend for a random lunch. I could barely get the picture of you in that red dress out of my head."

Lois smiled wryly. "You're the one that told Chloe about your date there with 'some girl.' Nice title, by the way."

"I didn't want to give her the chance to ask many more questions." He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I mean, if I had talked about it as the best night of my life, I think she would have wanted more information about the intelligent…" he began accenting his words with soft kisses on her forehead, "funny…sexy…beautiful and fascinating woman that I had the pleasure to take out."

Clark was pretty sure that the grin on her face was mirrored on his own. "Nice talkin', Romeo. You know, we're going to have to tell her. Probably sooner rather than later," Lois said.

"We'll tell Chloe soon, how about that?" Clark said and Lois nodded. "She probably has some of her own ideas about us anyway. Just give her a few days to get back on her feet with everything that's going on in her own life. Plus, I just want things to go back to normal between us like you said they would when I won the challenge."

"Don't go acting all smug, Smallville. I helped you along with it plenty. It certainly helped your writing when you had the proper motivation." She grinned and started to rub the spot on the back of his neck again. Clark closed his eyes, rested his head on her shoulder, and moaned slightly. He didn't even know that spot was so sensitive before she came along. Oh yes, he could definitely live with this woman for the rest of his life if she gave him the chance.

"Hey, Lois, I'm coming over around six tonight."

"Hmmm, I don't think I can do that. I've got another date lined up, sorry."

Clark growled and pulled himself up from her shoulder to stare into her mirthful eyes. From her smirk he knew she was joking. He planted a fist on the desk on each side of her, trapping her. "I don't think that's going to happen. I'm coming over at six. I'm going to cook you dinner. And that's what's going on tonight."

Lois chuckled slightly, "Well, if you're cooking, then I guess I can break my other plans. I'll need the leftovers around my apartment for the next few days, anyways."

Clark allowed himself to smile. "Lois Lane, if any other man even tries to look at you the wrong way, I'll break him in half before you have any plans of your own to break."

"I know you will, Clark," she said softly. She kissed him tenderly to reassure him that she was just teasing. "How could I even think of anyone else but you? You've got me. I'm all yours, dear."

"Then I'm the luckiest man that ever lived."

He knew everything would be ok for sure now. Here in this supply room they could reconnect away from the rest of the world, just the two of them. Just being together like nothing else even mattered, and right now, nothing else even existed. They lost themselves in more passionate kisses for a few moments before Clark realized something important. The frakkin' outside world kept on intruding.

"I've got to send that article in or else I won't finish the challenge." He tried to pull away from Lois, but she held on to his arms.

She looked at her watch, "You've still got about twelve minutes or so."

"So I need to send it in," Clark tried to move again, but she still held him.

"Just wait ten minutes."

Clark looked at her, hesitating at the delay. "Ten minutes?"

Lois smiled seductively up at him, running her hands up and down his arms and setting his skin aflame. "Ten minutes."

Those eyes and smile could melt the fortress.

Clark returned her smile and took her in his arms again. "You are sooo distracting."

***************

AN: Fun factoid #2, the Übermensch that Lois calls Clark is of course Nietzsche's concept of the Superman, which Clark actually is. :)

Thanks for reading! Reviews are the spice of life to either give or receive!


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